Robles named volunteer assistant at Arizona State

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Jeremy Hawkes (Arizona State Sports Information)
08/31/2011


TEMPE- Recently graduated Arizona State University wrestling standout Anthony Robles will return to the team for the 2011-12 campaign as a volunteer coach, as announced by head coach Shawn Charles on Wednesday.

"Anthony is going to bring a wealth of knowledge to our lightweights, especially in the top positiions," ASU head coach Shawn Charles said. "He has knowledge in the sport and a lot of body awareness in the sport that will really help. Arizona State Wrestling is very fortunate to get Anthony to be our volunteer coach."

Robles will work with the lightweights on the team and will bring a wealth of knowledge to a very young group of student-athletes that will certainly benefit from his experiences at the collegiate level.

Born without a right leg, Robles went undefeated (36-0) during his senior season at Arizona State this past year and was the 2011 NCAA Champion at 125 pounds. He was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the NCAA Championships, tallying the third All-America accolade of his career.

Robles notched his third consecutive Pac-10 title as well in 2011 and capped his career with 122 total victories, good for the eighth-best tally in Sun Devil wrestling history. Robles scored 47 technical falls during his tenure at ASU and won 75 percent of his matches with bonus points (92 of 122) for another school record. As a senior, Robles set single-season records for bonus-point wins (31) and technical falls (24) in what was one of the more dominating single seasons in ASU wrestling history.

Robles had 53 career wins in duals - good for 10th best in school history - and was named as the Outstanding Wrestler at five events as a senior.

Robles was honored at the 2011 ESPY Awards with the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance and as the Best Male Athlete with a Disability.

This will be Robles’ first coaching role of his post-collegiate career. The Mesa, Ariz., native now works as a motivational speaker and has spent much of the summer travelling to assorted events across the country to tell his story.

Charles, now in his third year as head coach, also added Travis Pascoe to the coaching staff earlier this summer. Pascoe was an All-America wrestler at Nebraska during his undergraduate years and worked with Charles during his time at Fresno State. The wrestling team will open up the 2011-12 schedule on November 5 at the Eastern Michigan Open in Ypsilanti, Mich.